Back and seat construction for chairs and the like



March 6,1956 -E. H. GRUBER 2,737,232

BACK AND SEAT CONSTRUCTION FOR CHAIRS AND THE LIKE Filed Nov. 4. 1952 s sheets-sheet 1 I FIG]. 10

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March 6,1956 E. H. GRUBEQR 2,737,232

BACK AND SEAT CONSTRUCTIONFOR CHAIRS AND THE LIKE -mg m llt INVENTOR. Ell H. Gruber,

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March 6, 1956 E. H. GRUBER BACK AND SEAT CONSTRUCTION FOR CHAIRS AND THE LIKE.

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ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent BACK AND SEAT CONSTRUCTION FOR CHAIRS AND THE LIKE This invention relates to chairs or the like. More specifically it is concerned with chairs or the like of-a' type having open back and seat frames, and wherein flexible sheet material or webbing only is used as the fill in for said frames to form the back rests and-seats. t a

My invention has for its chief aim 'to provide in con nection with a chair orthe like ofthe kind to an improved means and method whereby the sheet material or the webbingis incorporated and securedin such a way that the body of the seated user is yieldingly supported with avoidance of contact with any solid or rigid portion of the framing and the user thereby assured of the utmost ease and comfort.

Other objects and attendant advantages will appear from the following detailed description of the drawings, where- Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of a chair embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 shows the chair in rear elevation.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view in section taken as indicated by the angled arrows III-III in Fig. 2, and drawn to a larger scale.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view in perspective showing how a loop formed in the back and seat fabric is clamped by a clasp such as hereinbefore mentioned.

Figs. 5 and 6 are perspective views of the component parts of the clasp.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view in perspective showing how the ends of the strip material employed for the back and seat of the chair is finished off in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic view showing how the back and seat material allows folding of the chair without becoming slack or sagging.

The chair herein illustrated for convenience of exemplifying my invention is of the folding deck or lawn type having an open invert U-shaped back frame 10, an open rectangular seat frame 11, frontal legs 12 which are rigidly united by an invert U shaped brace member 13, and a U-shaped truss frame 14 which serves the purposes of rear legs-all of these parts being shown as fashioned from metallic tubing. Seat frame 11 is pivotally connected to back frame 10 by means of rivets which pass through the side bars of the back frame and through the side bars of the seat frame somewhat forward of the rear bar 11a of the latter frame as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. The legs 12 are pivotally connected, by screw bolts 16, to seat frame 11 adjacent the front bar 11b, of the latter and extend above the pivotal connections 16. With the chair set up as in Fig. 1, the ends of the side bars of back frame 10 rest upon the side bars of truss frame 14 which latter is pivotally connected to seat frame 11 and the front legs 12 by the bolts 16. Adjacent their lower ends, the side bars of back frame 10 are connected to the corresponding portions of the truss member 14 by links 17. The arm rests 18 are fashioned from angle bar stock, each being pivotally connected at one end to the top of the corresponding leg 12 by a rivet 19, and at its other end to 2,737,232 Patented Mar. 6, 1956 the corresponding side bar of back frame 10 by a screw bolt 20. This interconnection of the various parts makes possible compact folding or collapsing of the chair in a well known way which need not be dwelt upon herein. The back and seat proper for the chair are formed in this instance by interlaced longitudinal and transverse webbing or tape strips 21 and 22 of flexible material.

The steps followed in accordance with my invention in preparing the webbing strips 21, 22 and applying them to the chair framing are as follows:

The webbing strips 21 and 22 are cut to the required lengths after which their opposite ends may be diagonally tuck folded to point configuration and the folds clinched by grommets 23 as shown in Fig. 7. The transverse strips 22 -are first applied by lapping their opposite ends rearwardly and downwardly over theside bars of the back frame 10 and of the seat frame 11 respectively and secured in suitably spaced relation to said barsby means of screws 24 passed through the grommets and into said bars. With this accomplished, the ends of the longitudinal strips 21 are secured in similarly spaced relation to the top bar 10a of back frame 10 in a like manner by means of screws 25, and then interlace them with the transverse strips on the back frame. The still free ends of the longitudinal strips 21 are next looped horizontally over and under the rear crossbar 11a of seat frame to form loops L in said bars. The sides of the loop L thus formed in each strip 21 are next brought together and a retroversion is made in them as at R in Fig. 4, and said retroversion passed upward through the slotted component 28 (separately illustrated in Fig. 5) of a clasp 29. The toothed bar component 30 (separately illustrated in Fig. 6) of clasp 29 is thereupon thrust through the retroversion R above the slotted component 28, and the loose end of the strip 21 pulled tight. As a result, the bar 28 component of clasp 29 is forced downward until its projecting shouldered ends 30a bear upon the ends of the slotted component 28, with incidental upward penetration of the fold of retroversion R of the strip by the teeth of said bar component. The still free ends of the longitudinal strips 21 are next interlaced with the transverse strips 22 of the seat, then drawn forward and finally lapped over the front cross bar 11b of seat frame 11 and made fast by screws 32. It is to be noted that the clasps 29 are so placed that the loops L in the longitudinal strips 21 are clamped crosswise along a line substantially coincident with the pivot axis between the back and seat frames 10 and 11. Accordingly, the longitudinal strips 21 will remain taut as the seat frame 11 is swung upward relative to the back frame 10 in folding or collapsing the chair as shown in the diagram of Fig. 8.

As an alternative, a single long clasp may be provided in place of the individual ones shown in Fig. 2 to serve for all of the longitudinal webbing strips 21 as will be readily understood.

As another alternative, instead of interlaced webbing for the back and seat proper, I may employ a single full width sheet of flexible material or fabric and provide a single clasp like the one illustrated and described but necessarily longer, with attainment of advantages corresponding in all respects to those hereinbefore pointed out.

It is to be understood that my invention is not to be considered as restricted to a folding chair such as herein illustrated and described by way of example since, by suitable modifications within the scope of the appended claims, it is equally well adaptable, without sacrifice of any of the advantages hereinbefore pointed out, to chairs or the like in which the back is adjustable relative to the seat or even to chairs having non-adjustable backs, where flexible sheeting or webbing is solely used for the back and seat proper.

Having thus described my invention, I claim: 1. In a folding chair or the like, an open seat frame; an open back frame having side bars pivotally connected to side bars of the seat frame somewhat forward of a rear cross bar of theseat frame; a tensioned strip of flat flexi-' between the two frames, comprising an elongate longitudinally slotted component through the slot of which a retroversion formed upon bringing together the sides of the loop of the strip is upwardly passed, and a cooperative bar element lodged within the retroversion of the strip, said bar having stop shoulders at opposite ends for engaging downwardly upon opposite ends of the slotted component, and teeth along its top edge for engaging upward- 1y into the fold of the retroversion in the strip.

2. In a folding chair or the like, an open seat frame; an open back frame having side bars pivotally connected to side bars of the seat frame somewhat forward of a rear cross bar of the seat frame; a plurality of transverselyarranged longitudinally-extending tensioned strips of flat flexible sheet material looped about a rear cross bar of the seat-frame with one end thereof secured to atop cross bar of the back frame and the other end secured to a front cross bar of the seatframe; and individual clasp means for clamping together the sides of the loops disposed substantially in the axis of the pivotal connection between the two frames each such means comprising an elongate longitudinally slotted component through the slot of which a retroversion formed upon bringing the sides of the loop in the strip into contact with each other is passed upwardly and a cooperative bar element lodged within the retroversion of the loop, said bar having stop shoulders at opposite ends for engaging downwardly upon opposite ends of the slotted component and teeth along its top edge for engaging upwardly into the fold of the retroversion in the strip.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

